game auteurs
video game directors, designers or producers that are often discussed/analyzed through a lens of auterism or otherwise embody auterist ethos. suggestions welcome as this is meant to be a relatively comprehensive list
111 Games
Kouji "Cozy" Okada / Kazuma Kaneko
Leslie Benzies / Dan Houser
Jay Tholen
Charles Cecil
Takashi Tokita
Markus "notch" Persson
Toru Iwatani
Alexey Pajitnov
Paul Cuisset
Rieko Kodama
Jade Raymond
Kim Swift
Amy Hennig
Gunpei Yokoi
Hideyuki Suganami
Tadashi Satomi
Yukio Futatsugi
Tomonobu Itagaki
Haruhiko Shono
Toby Gard
Hideo Yoshizawa
Richard "Lord British" Garriot
Brian and Andrew Allanson
Kenji Eno
Alx Preston
Roberta Williams
Tonnor
Jane Jensen
Ron Gilbert
Kitty Horrorshow
Christine Love
Muriel Tramis
Mason Lindroth
thecatamites
Daniel Mullins
Sam Barlow
Arvi "Hempuli" Teikari
Maddy Thorson
Derek Yu
Ojiro Fumoto
Austin "Dingaling" Jorgensen
Kikiyama
Kazutaka Kodaka
Kotaro Uchikoshi
Jun'ya "ZUN" Ota
Ryukishi07
Josef Fares
Bennett Foddy
Benedetto "Puppet Combo" Cocuzza
Tim Rogers
Zach Barth
Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya
Toshihiro Nagoshi
Warren Spector
Jordan Mechner
Michel Ancel
Scott Cawthon
Phil Fish
Davey Wreden
Joar Jakobsson
Jonatan "cactus" Söderström
Todd Howard
Robert Kurvitz
Josh Sawyer
Chris Avellone
Satoshi Tajiri
Katsura Hashino
Tetsuya Nomura
Yoshio Sakamoto
Hideaki Itsuno
Tetsuya Mizuguchi
Tetsuya Takahashi
Masato Kato
Hironobu Sakaguchi
Yu Suzuki
Yuji Naka
Takashi Nishiyama
Keiji Inafune
Tokuro Fujiwara
Koji Igarashi
Mitsuo "Tsunku♂" Terada
Hidetaka "SWERY" Suehiro
Keiichiro Toyama
Yuji Horii
Shu Takumi
Ken Levine
Peter Molyneux
Neil Druckmann
Éric Chahi
Jenova Chen
Sid Meier
Will Wright
Yoko Taro
Keita Takahashi
Edmund McMillen
David Cage
Tim Schafer
Jonathan Blow
Masahiro Sakurai
22 Comments
@LordDarias lol im not trying to seriously attribute any of these games to solely these individuals. i mean there are a number of cases where that's warranted but i'm just trying to compile a relatively comprehensive list of people who could reasonably be considered the "auteurs" of this medium. my choice of game when it came to representing each person was mostly based around what's the most popular work that they're associated with
@scissors61 thanks for the suggestion, added
@scissors61 thanks for the suggestion, added
Brian and Andrew Allanson (YIIK)
Shozou Kaga (Fire Emblem)
lol. added
(shozou kaga too, thanks for the recs)
Richard "Lord British" Garriot - Ultima series.
added
Yoshiaki Koizumi, most known for Super Mario Galaxy and Odyssey.
is koizumi looked at as an auteur though, generally speaking? i am trying to make a broad list but i also want to resist just adding every prolific name in the industry - for example, i decided against adding eiji aounuma. generally the people i'm looking for are ones with strong and identifiable authorial voices, and im not entirely sure if koizumi qualifies. i'm not completely opposed to adding him though, i'm sure there are some examples of hypocrisy or inconsistency in my picks when it comes to this.
Please add Haruhiko Shono (Gadget: Past as Future) and Michiaki Tsubaki (Kumdor no Ken, which I just added to IGDB since it's a sad oversight).
I suppose Toby Gard could count, he was pretty much the driving force as to how Tomb Raider came to be and that became a prosperous series analyzed for different reasons.
There's also Takashi Tokita (worked with Square since around the NES era, started as a full timer once FFIV got into development, then directed Live A Live and Parasite Eve), Paul Cuisset (more or less the driving force behind Flashback, also co-developed a game with Eric Chahi called Future Wars), and Hideo Yoshizawa (Klonoa, NES Ninja Gaiden)
There's also Takashi Tokita (worked with Square since around the NES era, started as a full timer once FFIV got into development, then directed Live A Live and Parasite Eve), Paul Cuisset (more or less the driving force behind Flashback, also co-developed a game with Eric Chahi called Future Wars), and Hideo Yoshizawa (Klonoa, NES Ninja Gaiden)
Tadashi Satomi, known for the Digital Devil Saga duology and the first 3 Persona games (Persona 1,2 IS and EP)
Yukio Futatsugi, known for the Panzer Dragoon franchise and Phantom Dust for the OG Xbox
Hideyuki Suganami, known for lot of Treasure games, ex. Sin & Punishment, Alien Soldier
Hideo Yoshizawa, known for the Klonoa franchise
Yukio Futatsugi, known for the Panzer Dragoon franchise and Phantom Dust for the OG Xbox
Hideyuki Suganami, known for lot of Treasure games, ex. Sin & Punishment, Alien Soldier
Hideo Yoshizawa, known for the Klonoa franchise
itagaki and ninja gaiden black have gotta be on here. also i will second toby gard for tomb raider.
Gunpei Yokoi!!! Huge omission for a list this big.
Also it'd be good to add more notable women to this list. Amy Hennig (Uncharted, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver), Rieko Kodama (Phantasy Star), Kim Swift (Portal), Jade Raymond (Assassin's Creed), etc.
Some others: Markus Persson (Minecraft), Toru Iwatani (Pac-Man), Alexey Pajitnov (Tetris)
Also it'd be good to add more notable women to this list. Amy Hennig (Uncharted, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver), Rieko Kodama (Phantasy Star), Kim Swift (Portal), Jade Raymond (Assassin's Creed), etc.
Some others: Markus Persson (Minecraft), Toru Iwatani (Pac-Man), Alexey Pajitnov (Tetris)
Very interesting list! Maybe add Charles Cecil?
good suggestion, added
Add Leslie Benzies and Dan Houser?
all right, added.
Shin Megami Tensei - Cozy Okada/Kazuma Kaneko?
Seems kinda fair to have them, since you already have other big jrpg guys like Hori, Sakguchi, Nomura and even Hashino or Satomi.
Overall, interesting list, many guys with interesting careers i had no idea about.
Seems kinda fair to have them, since you already have other big jrpg guys like Hori, Sakguchi, Nomura and even Hashino or Satomi.
Overall, interesting list, many guys with interesting careers i had no idea about.
admittedly feel a little uncomfortable including a character designer/artist on here but ah, its become a very broad list anyway.
LordDarias
1 year ago